508. REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 
alone or with the broad-leaf wattle. The silver wattle, for tanning pur- 
poses, is generally discarded. 
W attles grow on almost any soil, but their growth is most rapid on 
loose sandy. patches, or where ‘the surface has been broken for agricul- 
tural or other purposes. Where the soil is hard or firm it is recom- 
mended that plow-furrows should be made at regular distances of five 
or six feet apart, into which the seed should be dropped. The outer 
covering of the wattle seed is peculiarly tough—hard and horny in char- 
acter—thereby forming a protection which renders the seed compara- 
tively impervious to ordinary germinating influences. It will, therefore, 
be found necessary to employ a more direct agency than simply cover- 
ing the seeds with earth. Water of a little less than boiling tempera- 
ture should be poured on them, and they should be allowed to soak until 
soft. As the seeds are smali and ought to be sown near the surface, a 
very light sprinkling of earth is sufficient. For all practical purposes it 
_would be enough to drop the seeds about one foot apart along the fur- 
rows, in which case about 7,200 seeds would suffice for an acre of land. 
The wattle seed is'cheap, and can be bought for 8s. or 10s. per pound. 
There are about 40,000 seeds of the black wattle to the pound. Those 
of the broad-leaf are one-fourth heavier, and consequently there are not 
more than about 30,000 to the pound. The seeds could, therefore, be 
dropped more plentifully with little additional expense, and the seed- 
lings thinned out at discretion, thereby increasing the chances of a reg- 
ular plantation. On loose sandy soil, on which Acacia-pycnantha can 
best be raised, it might not be even necessary to break up the soil in 
any way; but it should be borne in mind that any opening up of the 
surface would materially accelerate the germination of the seed and 
subsequent growth of the seedlings. On such open sandy soil the fur- 
row line might be dispensed with and the seeds scattered broadcast. 
When the young trees attain the height of three or four feet the lower 
branches should be pruned off, and every effort afterwards made to keep 
the stems straight and clear, in order to facilitate the stripping and 
nduce an increase in the yield of bark. In ali instances where atten- 
tion is paid to the cultivation of wattles as a source of income, care 
should be taken to replace every tree stripped by successional sowings, 
in order that there should be as little variation in yield as possible. 
The: wood of the wattle is of considerable value for industrial pur- 
poses. It can be readily utilized for cask staves, for axle spokes, for 
ax and pick handles, and many other articles requiring a tough and 
durable grain. When dried, it forms the best fire-wood known for culi- 
nary and all domestic purposes, also for ovens and furnaces. It emits 
a clearer and greater heat than other firewood. The wattles may be 
utilized aiso for fencing, the trunks making top rails of the best de- 
scription. The commercial uses of the wattles are multifarious, as, in 
addition to the value of the bark and the wood, a good profit may be 
derived from the sale of the gum which exudes from the trees. Recently 
the price of Australian gum has increased thirty per cent. in the conti- 
nental and English markets. 
The character of the soil appears to affect, to some extent, the quality 
of the bark, this being clearly proved to the members of the board dur- 
ing their inspection of the North Gippsland district. A sample of bark 
from trees growing on a limestone formation was greatly inferior in 
tannin to that of bark obtained from another section of country, although 
the climate was in every way calculated to produce better results. 
From bark growing within five miles of the Buchan River 42 per cent. 
of tan material was obtained, while the bark taken from the lime- 
